COVID hinder Prospects move to new home

Article posted by Coliseum, November 17^th, 2021

Image: Spruce Grove Metro Ballpark

Supply chain shortages and the Migratory Bird Act are being cited as reasons for a delay to the opening of a new ballpark West of Edmonton (Canada).

The ‘Global News’ stated that the baseball team Edmonton Prospects announced on November 10^th that the new Metro Ballpark in Spruce Grove will not open until May 2023.

The Edmonton Prospects are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. They play in the Western Canadian Baseball League (collegiate summer baseball league).

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The 9,200-capacity Edmonton Prospects Baseball Club is a baseball stadium in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It has served as home to several Minor League Baseball (MiLB) clubs. It serves as the residence of the Edmonton Prospects baseball team.

The Spruce Grove Metro Ballpark is a baseball park currently under construction in Edmonton, Canada. It will be the new home of the Edmonton Prospects, a Western Canadian Baseball League team playing in the West Division. The park is scheduled to open in 2023 and will be able to hold 3,470 people.

The ‘Global News’ further stated that the baseball team had originally hoped the park would open next summer, in time for the 2022 season.

Said Patrick Cassidy, Managing Partner for Gold Sports and Entertainment Group Corp., the company that operates the baseball team and will manage the facility, “We have now had to reassess our schedules and through that process, have come to the realization that opening in 2022 is just not possible.”

The Prospects announced plans to relocate to the new facility in Spruce Grove in May 2020, after a group led by former Edmonton Oiler (NHL team) Randy Gregg was awarded a 10-year lease to operate RE/MAX Field (the Prospects present digs also known as the Edmonton Prospects Baseball Club).

Cassidy said that the new targeted opening date for the ballpark is May 27^th, 2023.

Stated Cassidy in a news release sent out, “Losing two and a half months this past summer due to matters relating to the Migratory Bird Act combined with supply chain shortages due to COVID-19 make it virtually impossible to complete a project of this size and scope in the next seven months.”

For the 2022 season, the team said it will play most of its games at the 4,415-capacity Centennial Field in Sherwood Park, Canada.

Other games will be played in the 886-capacity baseball club Sylvan Lake Gulls, the 5,200-capacity Seaman Stadium in Okotoks and the 3,000-capacity Spitz Stadium in Lethbridge – all in Canada. A two-game set will also take place in Kindersley, Saskatchewan (Canada) during the third week of June.

Added Cassidy, “In the next week to 10 days we will be promoting ticket sales for both the 2022 and 2023 seasons, as we have quite a waiting list for season tickets for the new ballpark. In addition, our suite sales have been very robust and to be honest, we do not have that many suites available for 2023 in the new ballpark.”

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